Part of the Team
by quidditchchick004
Summary: Rei reacts to Iwatobi's win and receives many thanks from his friends. Slightly Reigisa-ish and episode 12 spoilers.


Part of the Team

A giant breath of air left Rei's mouth once Haruka's hands had touched the wall and he quickly scanned the board overhead, not taking long before spotting the glowing red number 1 next to Iwatobi. They did it, they actually did it. A sigh of relief escaped from Rei's mouth as cheers filled the place and high-pitched screams, courtesy of Ama-sensei and Kou, rang horridly against Rei's eardrums; though he couldn't find himself to care.

He glanced down at his friends and saw Makoto offer a hand to Haru and even though he was quite far away, he could tell Nagisa was in tears. That's when Rin suddenly dashed toward Haru and wrapped his arms tightly around him in a hug; Makoto and Nagisa following right after. They were happy, smiling and laughing brightly. It was quite a site to see after all the tension that had been happening between them, it was as though they had never stopped being friends. They had made a fantastic team too, their race was wonderful, it was _beautiful._

"You guys are truly beautiful." Rei muttered to himself, feeling a slight smile spread on his face.

Kou tugged at Rei's shirt. "Rei-kun! Let's go congratulate everyone!"

"Of course." He stood up and slowly made his way down the bleachers and onto the ground. Having walked about half way to his friends, he noticed his shoe had become untied, so he quickly bent down to lace it up once again. Barely a second after he stood up and a giant blond blur flew at him and he nearly fell over from the sudden weight.

"R-Rei-chan! We did it! W-we won!" Nagisa stuttered, obviously still in hysterics from earlier.

Rei smiled and returned his friend's embrace, letting the shorter boy sob into his shoulder.

"It was so amazing, Rei-chan! I can't believe we got to swim with Rin-chan again and everyone was so happy and I had such an amazing time swimming! It was like I was free just like Haru-chan!"

Rei slightly cringed at Nagisa's use of _Rin-chan_, but he shrugged it off quickly. Rin was their friend again, so he'd just have to get used to it. Rei stroked Nagisa's hair softly and he started to calm his crying. "You swam beautifully, Nagisa-kun." He held Nagisa slightly closer, lips grazing his ear. "You were even more beautiful than Haruka-senpai."

Nagisa's breath hitched and Rei barely had time to get embarrassed by the words he let slip from his mouth when Nagisa suddenly pulled away from Rei and looked directly at him; seemingly more teary-eyed than before.

"Rei-chan…" Nagisa promptly burst into tears once again. "REI-CHAN!" He hopped onto Rei and Rei had no other choice but to catch him or else they'd fall into the pool. Nagisa sobbed into Rei's shoulder again as he clung tightly to his jacket.

"Rei-chan, _you_ were beautiful. Despite your little spat with Rin-chan , you still let him swim in your place. And that was _your_ decision too! No one had to ask it of you and that was the most selfless thing I've ever seen. If anybody won today, it was you, Rei-chan."

Rei's face flushed at Nagisa's words, and he felt a little weak-kneed, so he softy set Nagisa back onto the ground in fears of dropping him. "O-of course! I just wanted you to all be happy! You're my friends, my teammates."

Nagisa smiled brightly and wiped his tears on his arm. He gazed at Rei for a few seconds and started to take a step toward him when Kou appeared from nowhere and glomped Nagisa. The rest of the team arrived not to long afterward.

"You did it, you did it!"

"Ah, Gou, don't scare me like that!" Nagisa whined.

"Well maybe if you would call me _Kou_!" she huffed.

Nagisa sighed and smiled. "Okay, fine. Kou it is then."

Kou was shocked, but she smiled back and gave Nagisa another hug.

"Rei!" Makoto made his way over to Rei and pulled him into a hug; Haru too followed suit and embraced Rei for the first time ever.

"Thank you, Rei."

"Haruka-senpai…"

"Oi, Ryugazaki!" Rei turned his head quickly and saw Rin walking towards him. He knew he should have nothing to fear, but he couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated. Rin made his way over to him, not looking at him directly until he got close. They were the same height, but Rei couldn't help but feel towered over. Suddenly, he got pulled into a tight hug and then heard a quiet sob leave Rin's mouth. "T-thank you, Ryu…Rei. I'm forever grateful for what you did here today. It…it really means a lot to me. And, I'm sorry for everything else as well."

Rei was at a loss for words, he had not expected such a thing from Rin, at least not so quickly. Struggling with a response, he was thankfully interrupted by Kou flashing her camera and yapping about how she needed to take a picture of the winning team. Rei felt himself frown slightly as they all gathered together and he quietly sauntered off to the side.

If he could do it all over again, he'd do the same exact thing in a heartbeat and he definitely didn't regret his decision, but he couldn't help but feel like he was being left out.

Makoto laughed. "Rei? What are you doing, get over here!"

"Ah, no. I'm fine. This is just for the winning team, right?"

"Yes, and you're a part of that team, Rei." Haru said.

"No really, it's fine. I didn't even swim so—"

"Ah, shut up and get over here already!" Nagisa ran over and pulled Rei by his collar and dragged him back to the group. "I'm not letting Kou take a picture unless you're in it, Rei-chan."

Rei looked at his friends smiling at him before they turned away to smile for the camera. He shook his head and felt stupid for ever thinking himself not included. He then noticed Nagisa's hand was still clutching his collar and that he was looking up at him out of the corner of his eye; he then quickly averted his gaze to the camera and smiled widely for it; his free hand forming a fist in the air. Rei smiled to himself before, too, smiling at the camera, and placing his hand softly on Nagisa's lower back, then deciding last minute to throw up a peace sign with the other.

After the photo, they heard a harsh voice call their team up to the front, which Ama-sensei and Coach Sasabe responded to. They had gotten disqualified, of course; they already knew the consequences of pulling a stunt like that. But it was more than just winning a relay, they could do that the next year, it was about winning back a friend and gaining new ones along the way.


End file.
